Walkies!

I had arranged with a friend's daughter to walk at Groot Constantia this morning. She was supposed to pick me up at 8 o'clock but arrived ten minutes early and I wasn't ready. Kate's mother is in America just now and she is looking after the two dogs. Bow Wow excitedly joined Henry and Ziggy in the back of Kate's car and stuck his head out of the window all the way to the vineyard.

Kate took us on a slightly different and better route to the one I normally go on. Halfway round we were accompanied by a giant shnauzer called Midnight. People often comment on how Bow Wow manages to entertain himself by playing football or swimming in the pool, but I think he was thrilled to have some canine company. I was pleased to catch up with Kate who is clever, focused, confident and extremely vibrant - certainly not what springs to mind as a typical chartered accountancy student!

I hear from Lucie that a delightful little mouse has settled into my Scottish kitchen and is eating Sasha's cat food. I wonder how things will change when Bow Wow arrives on Friday!

My sister had two giant shnauzers when she lived in the hills outside Rome. Their names were Sumo and Zeudi. I spent a lot of time there with my children in the eighties. We were once relaxing by the Etruscan pool in her garden when Russell shot past riding on the back of Sumo. Those were the days, weren't they Sheenagh?